SENSE & SENSITIVITY
DISCUSSION: CREATIVE PROCESS
TALK 1
THE TWO PATHS OF ARCHITECTURE IN THE AGE OF MODERN
MY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE TALK
I had always been a huge fan Neo-classical architecture. I regarded the Morden architecture as plain, basic and boring. I thought it was devoid of personality. I wondered why anyone would prefer such simplistic style over a royal and extensive building. I often associated the decline of Neo-classical style with the change in the taste of people. However now when I realise that Morden architecture was a form of protest against industrialisation, I see it in a different way. The growing emphasis on the need of practicality, over the futile desire of beauty makes more sense now than ever before, where we want to extract maximum benefits from whatever we have. The discussion on extracting maximum from minimum and how it leads to exploitation of labour and environment , really led me to wonder about the need for a more sustainable architecture and incorporating this into the urban and slum development.
The statement made that “roots is not only in the past, it’s not linear” triggered a lot of through tiny mind- how do we identify our roots? If not the past then can we find roots in the present? Can we multiple roots? For now I don’t have the answers to these questions, and I don’t know if I ever will but I’ll definitely keep on looking for them.
TALK 2
STYLE, STYLISTIC EVOLUTION & NOTION OF ZEITGEIST
MY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE TALK
Despite having great amount of knowledge about the Indian medieval history, and being aware or the various kings, kingdoms and empires. The Zeitgeist (spirit of age) of the Indian art was something that often went past me. While listening to his presentation I could relate it with my knowledge of the Mauryan empire and the Vakatakas. While Sir was talking about desi and Margi, which is the interaction between ordinary and elite within the realms of art, I was immediately reminded of the gateways of the Sanchi stupa, where there was an interaction between the godly figures, the animal motifs and the past cultures. It was a very prude and lively scene, where the akansha (desire) was focused on the goal to create a doorway that gives everyone a brief sight into the essence of the spiritual place that they are about to enter. This topic of akansha and desire reminded me of the transform project where we were changing our material and form based on our “goal” or final object.Similarly, the questions raised by Deepika about the sculpture at Mahabalipuram, was directly correlated with iconography and how the presence of it or lack there of can change the way we view and interpret an art and the intentions of the artist. The way sir created connections between the Baroque and Ganda in India really helped me understand the essence of the sculpture as I was more aware of Baroque due to my research. This enabled me to create connections between the western and Indian art cultures, while like sir mentioned were often also borrowed from the west. The emphasis on India breaking the parabolic structure with a new beginning that did not follow the prescribed pattern, really caused me to rethink the way I view Indian art. It caused me to wonder the reason behind such “new beginnings” and why the previous cultures were not carried forward. And if they were then why were these referred to as a “new beginning” and not the continuation of the goal that the previous culture wanted to attain. I will surely look into this more and dive deeper into Defining the Zeitgeist of Indian art history.
TALK 3
CLOTHING: AN OVERVIEW
MY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE TALK
I always narrowed down clothing to “fashion”. I have always given attention to being “fashionable” and looking good but never to the cloth and the making of the clothes itself. Perhaps that was due to my lack on interest in cloths and my desire to follow the latest trends. I regarded clothes as something that enhances our appearance and never as a vasa or habitat. While listening to the presentation I was able to create connections between the popular cultures in the realm of clothing and the art movements I have studied about in the GAD project. The use of Buffalo horn symbols in Nagaland, symbolising prosperity and empowerment, reminds me of the symbolist movement in Europe where mystical figures were used to comment on contemporary social situations. Similarly when Ma’am talked about canopies and how it was a part of royal celebrations I was able to connect it with my knowledge of the canopies used by the Mughal kings to separate their radiance from that of the sun, which later became a symbol of the divinely kings in the popular art. While I was able to connect certain points with my previous knowledge, others were not as simple, I was forced to think about the consideration of western fashion standards as the “ideal” or desirable standards. Why is that so? I wanted to know does following western trends makes me someone who is contributing to the decline of Indian aesthetics? I remember when ma’am talked about how men used to disfigure their women to prevent it from being stolen however in the process of it, the disfigurement ended up becoming the beauty standards. By disfiguring Indian standards are we making new beauty standard for ourselves. Or does it lead to the creation of a more heterogeneous culture. I believe that I, myself can answer these questions by further investigation and my own personal learning and experiences.
ILLUSTRATED GLOSSARY
1. Thematic - something that is related to or represents the object/subject that is being talked about
2. Material culture- 3D creations of man for the use of man
3. Visual culture- 2D creations of man for the use of man
4. Insignias- a symbol of prestige and honour
5. Zeitgeist- the key features that represents the essence of a place or time period
6. Anthropology- study of humans, society and cultures
7. Pointillism- the use of coloured dots to create an imagine
8. Iconography- the use of symbols or icons
9. Symbolism- the use of symbols to represent an idea or story.
10. Gothic architecture - buildings with arches, and decorative jalis
11. Impressionism- recreating an impression of what you see
12. Post Impressionism- creating an abstract impression of what you see.
13. Realisation- culminating your thoughts and learning’s to arrive at a conclusion.
14. Abstraction- representation without recreating an exact impression.
15. Creativity- is the use of our innovative ability to create something new and unique
16. Art- art is the expression of our opinions, and emotions that we want to share with others.
17. Design- design is a creative way to find solutions to problems.
18. Aesthetics- it is the physical elements that makes something visually attractive.
19.Visual language - the use of EOD & POD in an art constitutes its visual language
CONCLUDING REFLECTION
These two weeks consisted of an elaborate journey, of trying to figure out what is art and design. Art for me was a very pure means of expression based on ones opinions and emotions. However over the course of this project I realised that the creation of art is a much more complex process that goes beyond the artist and dives into his social and political surrounding. This makes art a culmination of that place and time expressed with a hints of creativity, skill and talent. Not only the art, the way in which we attach meaning to them also change according to how we relate it to our selves (past experiences) how we relate it to our surroundings (the society and region in which we live) our observation of the art (the visual language used) and our knowledge about it (history and artist). The relationship between these art and deign confused me. I was always a firm believer that art is not design. In my mind art is more emotional, while design is goal oriented, the goal often being making money. Saying that design is art or art is design waters down the importance of both in some way or the other. My study of the articles as well as the group discussion with my peers, gave me an small insight into the large world of debate between art and design. I was able to understand the perspective of people who belonged to the other group, and see the veracity of their stand. All this just made me curious to know more and to know better. I take away from this project, an improved appreciation for history and research which I’ll nurture for the next years to come.
My experience with galaxy of art & design
STRUGGLES
Initially I found it difficult to analyse the artworks solely based on visuals. It was challenging to keep my pre-existing knowledge about them apart and see them as pieces of artwork and not historical element.
During the study about visual and material cultures I found it difficult to compare and contrast the different kinds of cultures together. For instance, I couldn’t identify the similarities and differences between architecture and fashion or sculptures and music.
The presentation of extensive information in a short and crisp manner was difficult for me to do. I was not able to Funnel the information affectively.
ACHIEVEMENTS
I was able to find solutions to my own problems. Instead of asking for explanations, I tried to figure out the correct way to go about a study based on prompts and canvas briefs.
having the support of group members during phase 1 made the research work easier. We could create connections by sharing our knowledge.
The support and aid from my group members as well as their constant motivation helped me in the making final presentation.
How to work efficiently in a group
Listen to everyone.
Communicate with the members often.
Work to find consensus wherever there is a disagreement
Become friends! This wouldn’t affect the quality of work but makes working more fun.
Observations about my own working process
I observed that while I do well when it comes to participating in groups and organising work. I am much more of a lone wolf. I prefer to zone out and not contact anyone while I am doing my work. This posed some hurdles during our groups tasks as I didn’t not want to communicate with anyone until I was done with my part. However eventually I was able to over come it during the final presentation.
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